Garment-supporting fixture.



P. W. MEYER.

GARMENT SUPPORTING FIXTURE.

. .APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1914.

Patented Mar. 16, 1915.

HHHHHHHHWIIHHHIII" Z y W2 2 rninrnn 'sraarns nannw i W. MEYER, OFOSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, .ll.$SIGNOR TO THE OSHKOSH TRWTK COMPANY, OFOSHKOSH, WISCONSIN, A COIRAORATION F WISCQNSIN.

- Y GARTEENT-SUPPORTING FIXTURE.

' Be it known that I, FRANK W. MEYER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Oshkosh, in the county of lVinnebago and State ofWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Garment-Supporting Fixtures; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters. of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to "improvements in garment supporting fixturesand more par-' ticularly to devices of the character described of theextensible or telescoping type and applicable for use in connection withwardrobe trunks or other compartments suitable for the storage orhanging of garments.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientdevice for supporting garments, or the hangers upon which the garmentsare suspended and further, a

. device capable of permitting said hangers to be withdrawn from thetrunk or compartment, to a position permitting convenient access to thegarments supported thereby.

Further objects of my invention will be apparent as I proceed with adetailed description of a device embodying the features of my invention,the same being fully illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichxFigure 1 is a view in top plan View ofthe garment supporting fixturewith hinged top removed and showing the slidable arms in extendedposition. Fig. 2'is a sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, of oneof the supporting members in side elevation. Fig.

is a view in longitudinal section taken on line 33 of Fig. 4, showingconstruction of the members and of thelocking or catch member. Fig. 4:is a view in cross section taken in line 4-4,of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is adetailed view in elevation of a supporting member and arm showing amodified con struction' of the rib of said arm.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, the garment fixture thereinillustrated is'shown as fixed or secured within the upper portion of thegarment containing section or compartment of awardrobe open or hingedtop or upper wall. partment or section is formed by the walls of thetrunk comprising a vertical rear wall Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 16, 1914-.

remaining portion swung back, thereby permitting outward trunk having anThe com- Patented Mar. 13, 13315. Serial No. $61,954:.

9, side walls 10, 10, and the movable or hinged'top wall 11; the latter.being conwhen the trunk is in open position. The compartment is shown inopen position, the of the trunk 8 being movement or extension of themovable supporting members of the fixture so that. access may be had tothe garments supported thereon, in the manner usual with garmentfixtures of the extensible type. The supporting fixture comprises ingeneral, two slotted -or grooved tubular sup porting members 12, 12,supported in fixed positions upon opposite sides of the compartment andarranged adjacent to and in parallel relation with 10,10, and likewisein each other. bers'extend from the rear wall 9 to the forward margin ofthe side walls 10, 10, the tubular members being open at their forwardends. Within the tubular members 12, 12 are mounted slidable rods orextensible arms 13, 13, adapted to be moved outwardly or inwardlythrough the open ends of the tubular members.

The tubular supporting members are rigidly connected together and thecompartment or trunk by means of supporting brackets constructed andarranged as follows: At the rear of the compartment is provided atransverse bar 11 extending by preference-entirely across the rear wall9, the ends thereof being bent to form arms 14*, 14, extending at rightangles to the main portion of the bar. Said bar,.with its bent endportions, ,engages the rear and side walls and is fixed thereto by meansof a suitable number of screws 15. This bar supports the rear ends ofthe tubular members 12, 12, which are connected thereto, preferably bythe provision of apertures in said her, into which extend the ends ofsaid tubular members, a connection being made between the members byupsetting the ends of the tubular members or in any other suitable orwell known manner. Obviously sin 'gle or disconnected brackets might beemployed to support the rear. ends of the tubular members, but the useof the bar as described is more desirable in that it forms a connectionbetween the tubular members parallel relation with the oppositesidewalls to the walls of Lia;

12, assuring themaintenance of the proper spacing, and parallel relationof said men1- bers; Furthermore, the provisions of the continuousconnecting. and supporting bar adds a considerable degreeof rigidityandstability to the fixture as a whole, and also renders the assembleddevice a complete unit or combination of connected elements. The

use of a bar 14: extending entirely across the rear wall and connectedto the rear and side walls of the trunk is particularly advantageous inconnection with the so called open top trunks, in that the bar serves tostrengthen or reinforce the end of the trunk adjacent to the hinged top.In this manner the bar gives added strength throughout that portion ofthe trunk that must be ne'c essarily weakened to some degree by reasonof the particular construction employed, and thereby acts to resist thecrushing or distorting of the walls of the trunk by ex cessive pressureor violent shocks, as well as elimmating the liabihty of damage to thegarment supporting, fixture by breakage or tending arms 162 16 curvingupwardly to a slight degree and engaging the under surfaces of thetubular supporting members 12,

ends of each of the brackets 16, and engages 12, the endsof said armshaving a concave seat in which rests the ends of said tubular members. Ascrew 17 extends through the the adjacent portion of each tubularmember,

3 thus securing'the forward end of each of-said porting members 12,

fat

members rigidly to each bracket. The combination of the bar 14 attachedto the rear and side walls,'the brackets 16 attached at the margins ofthe side walls and the sup- 12,rigidly connected at their ends to saidbar and brackets, forms in effect a strengthening member extendingaround three sides of the compartment, thus adding materially to thestrength of the trunk.

In referring in detail to the construction of the tubular supportingmembers 12, 12, the sliding arm members 13, 13, and their componentparts, but one of the same will be described since both sets of membersare identical in construction and operation.

.Each tubular supporting member 12 is provided along its'uppermostportion or surface,w1th' a longitudinally disposed slot 18, which opensupwardly and extends from the margin of the opening at the forward endof said tubular memberand terminates a short distance from the rear endof the same. Each extensible or slidable arm 13, herein before mentionedis slidably mounted within a corresponding tubular supporting member andis provided upon its uppersurface with a longitudinally extendingarib orprojection 19, said rib extending from the forward end of the arm andterminating at a point a short distance from its rear end, said ribbeing preferably Tof a length substantially equal to that of the slot18. This rib is adapted to engage and slide in the slot 18 of thetubularsupporting member and within said slot and tohave its upper orouter face flush with or slightly above the level of the edges or thetop surfaces of movement of the sliding arms the follows so formed ordimensioned as to fit snugly the'tubular member adjacent to the marginsing construction is employed. At or near the inner end of the arm13, andupon its lower surface is provided a slot 21, opening downwardly andrearwardly as shown in Fig. 3. Within this slot is mounted a looking dogor catch 22, the same being pivoted upon a pin 23 extending transverselyof and located near greater length or body portion of the dog is locatedforwardly of its pivoting point, and is adapted to be partially rotatedor to swing through a limited distance in a vertical plane. In the loweror under surface of the tubular supporting memberis provided acomparatively, short slot 2 1, (Fig. 3) the same bein locatedadjacentto'the forward end of said member and immediately t9 the rear ofthe forward bracket 16. This 'slot is also located in alinement with theslot 21 of the sliding arm, so that when said arm 13 is drawn outwardlyso that the slots register one with the other, the forward portion ofthe dog is free to drop downwardly into the slot'24 of the tubularsupporting member, whereupon its forward margin with another beveledsurface 22, which 00- the rear end of the slot. The

1'1? comes in contact with the forward end of the said slot, thuspreventing further moveoperative except into locking position,

grantee acts with the adjacent surface of the slot 21, thus acting asastop'surface. It is ob- "vious that the dog 22 is contained entirelywithin the slot 21 when the sliding arm is in all positions exceptthereof passes' over porting member,

that in which the slot 21 the slot 24 of the supand hencefthe dog isinwhen said arm 20 is ex tended or drawn outwardly to its'ext'remelength.

The operation of the dog is entirely automatic in that it drops bygravity into locking position during the forward movement of the arm andis operative position its inclined bottom edge or margin with the innerend of the slot 24 as the arm is moved inwardly. When in lockingposition the lower portion of the dog extends slightly below the slot 24so that'to remove the arm entirely from the tubular her, it is easily,accessible to the fingers for e Pu p of .mwi g t same pw rdly whereuponthe arm may be drawn forwardly. and from the tubular member.

' As before suggested, the tubular members 12, 12, and slidable rods orarms 13, 13, are adapted to support a plurality ofgar ment hangers '25,the garments being hung or suspended therefrom. The upper or fixtureengagingportion of the hanger comprises'a transverse member 25 whichextends between the supporting members, the ends being provided withsemicircular notches 25", adapted to engage the upper surfaces of thesupportlng members, (Fig. 1.) A

When the trunk or compartment is closed the supporting fixture is incontracted position, that is: the extensible or sliding arms 13, 13, aremoved inwardly within the supporting members. The hangers are therefore,positioned within the compartment and an age the tubular supportingmembers. f0 render the garments accessible when the trunk or compartmentis open,

. the extensible arms 13, 13, are moved longitudinally forward oroutward so that they project beyond the openin of the compartment. Thehangers anti garments suspended on the tubular members 12 and rods '13may therefore, be carried or caused to slide forwardlyfrom the interiorof the space between the side walls and on to the extensible arms 13,13.

The purpose of the longitudinal slots in the upper surfaces of thetubular supporting members and the ribs upon the sliding rods extendingupwardly into said slots is now apparent and is of material advantage inthe operation of the device and the manipulation of the hangers. Theribs constitute tracks or bearing surfaces upon the sliding rods'which'serve when said rods are forced upwardly into nonsimply by the contactof supporting mein- I in extended positiomto form a continuous,

ers slide along a substantially continuous and level supporting surface,whereas in the absence of the ribs, the hangers would necessarily bemoved upwardly or dcwnwardly over an obstruction or shoulder formed bythe ends of the tubular supporting members, said obstruction beingobviously present by reason of the greater diameter of said supportingmembers and' sliding rods. The provision of the rib therefore, permitsthe hangers to be easily moved forwardly and rearwardly withoutliability of becoming jammed or otherwise hindered in their movement byreason of the presence of the construction before pointed out, as is thecase in the ordinary known forms of garment supporting fixtures.

The rib 19 has herein before been described as having its upper surfaceflush with or slightly above the upper surface of the tubular supportingmembers. A tubular supporting member is circular in cross section'asalready stated. Hence the upper surface of the rib would projectslightly above the longitudinal plane of the margins of the longitudinalslot in the tubular supporting member. As a result therefore, thehangers when engaging the tubular support ing members, with theextensible arms in contracted position as when the trunk or compartmentis closed, would rest upon the ribs by reason of the fact that a portionof each rib projects above the adjacent edges of the grooved portion ofthe corresponding tubular supporting member. By reason therefore, of thecontact between the garment hangers and the upper surfaces of said ribs,said hangers would tend to be carried outwardly to their extendedposition. In this manner the ribs act also as a supporting surface forthe garment hangers and aid to carry them forwardly with the slidingrods whereas in the absence of the ribs, two operations would benecessary in operating the device, namely, drawing out the rods or armsand then sliding the hang ers and garments outwardly upon the arms.

As a further improvement i the construction hereinbefore set forth, itis found desirable to bevel or slightly incline downwardly, the rear endportion of the rib as shown at 27 in Fig. 5, thus the forward ends ofthe tubular porting lift the top is closed, I provide a snap supportingmembers and the rear portions; of the ribs are insubstantially flushrelation when the extensible rods are extended so that a smoothbearing'surface is provided at the junction of the supmembers and arms,with the accomplishment of the same'results as in the first mentionedconstruction. In order to lock the top and'side walls of the trunk whenlatch device 40 of theuspal construction. (See Fig. 4.) As shown, saidlatch device comprises a spring pressed bail 41, pivotally mounted onthe side wall of the trunk and adapted to be swung into an uprightposition extend.- ing over and having locking engagement with, a keeper42,

' ing side flange of the top or lid 11. As this latch. device is of theusual type employed on trunks of this character, the operation of suchdevice is well known and needs nodescription. I

A garment hanger made in accordance with the feature of my invention isexceedingly light and compact instructure in that all of the members arelocated in the same plane, and hence occupies the minimum amount ofspacewithin the trunk or com.- partment. Furthermore, the absence of atransverse member connecting the outer ends of the sliding rods permitseasier access to garments supported therebyand less annoyance inremoving the hangers from, or placing them upon the supporting fixtures.

I claim as my invention:

mounted on the depend- 1. In a garment supporting i fixture, the icombination of a supporting member pro-.

vided with an upwardly opening longitudinal slot, and an arm in slidableconnection with said supportingmember and provided upwardly extendingribadapted to project into said slot, thoupper surface of said rib beingsubstantially flush with the adjacent upper surface of said supportingmember.

2. In agarment supporting fixture, the combination. of a tubularsupporting member provided with an upwardly opening longitudinal slot, arod slidably mounted in said tubular supporting member and provided witha longitudinally extending rib adapted to project into said slot, the uper surfaces ofsaid supporting member-an rib being substantially flush.

'8. In a garment supporting fixture, they combination of a plurality oftubular supporting members, each an upwardly opening longitudinal slot,a rod slidably mounted'in eachof said supporting members and eachrod'bein'gprovided with a longitudinally extending rib adapted toproject into the slot ofits supporting member, the upper surfaces ofsaid supporting members and ribs being substantially flush, and meansfor supportlng said being provided with member s, spaced .ber providedwith an upwardly opening end thereof, saidarm surface of said tubularmembers in fixed and parallel relation. g

Li a garment supporting fixture, the combination of a plurality ofsupporting members, spaced apart and arranged in parallel relation, eachof said supporting members being provided with an upwardlyopeninglongitudinal slot, a'rod slidably mounted .in each. I here andadaptedto be extended from one end thereof, each of said rods being provided with a longitudinal rib adapted to project vertically portingmember, and a fixed bar extending between and rigidly connecting saidsupporting members.

5. ln a garment supporting fixture,the combination of two apart andarranged in parallel relation, each "of said supporting members beingprovided with an upwardly opening longitudinal slot, an arm slidablymounted in each of said-supporting members and adapted to beextendedfrom one end thereof, each arm being provided with alongitudinal rib adapted to project into the said slot of its supportingmember, the upper (surfaces porting members being substantially flush,and means for supporting said. tubular members comprising a fixed barextending between and rigidly connecting said supof said ribs andtubular sup-' f said supporting meminto the slot of its suptubularsupporting porting members at one end thereof, and

brackets connected-with the opposite ends of said supporting members.

.6. In a garment supporting fixture, the combination of atubularsupporting mel-ms 0t, an arm slidably mounted within said sup portingmember and extensible from one being provided with a longitudinal ribadapted to project into said slot, the upper surface of said rib beingsubstantially flush with the upper surface of said supporting member,and means, for limiting the endwise movement of said arm in onedirection comprising. a dog pivot-ally mounted on' said armat one endthereof and adapted to engage "the tubular supporting member adjacentthe opposite end thereof. b

combination of a supporting member provided with an upwardly openingslot, extending substantially throughout its length, an arm slidablymounted in said supporting member and extensible 1 from the. forward endthereof, said arm being provided with a longitudinally extending rib,adapted to project intosaid slot and slightly above the slottedsupporting member,

' -7. In a garment supporting fixture, the

said rib having the surface of its rear por tion substantiallyflush withthe upper surface of said supporting member.

8. A garment supporting fixture for a rec trunk, comprising a supportingmember adapted to be secured in fixed relation in the Wardrobecompartment of said trunk, and an extensible member having endwisesliding connection With ble member being substantially flush With uppersurface of said supporting member,

whereby the upper of said supporting will be continuous or supportingsurfaces and extensible members and unbroken, when the saidsupportingmember; the uppersurface of said eXtensI- I FRANK WV. ME YER.

lVitnesse s z A. H. VVENDLAND, A. E. KAsTEN.

